From the first seconds of the opening track, Bach’s “Bist du bei mir” (now believed to have been composed by Stölzel) and continuing through the exquisitely beautiful melody of “Erbarme dich” (track 3), you know you’re in another world–of vocal technique, of stylistic interpretation, of accepted practice regarding accompaniment and soloist. And this is not a bad thing. Dutch contralto Aafje Heynis (b. 1924), who made her career as an oratorio and concert soloist beginning in the 1940s, performed with many of the last century’s greatest conductors (Beinum, Kleiber, Jochum, Dorati, etc.). She commanded a repertoire that included Brahms, Schubert, Mahler, and Beethoven (besides the great works of Bach and Handel) as well as spirituals, and she made many recordings for Philips.
This release offers a selection largely drawn from the early 1960s (10 of 13 tracks), arias by Bach and Handel performed either with the Vienna Symphony, Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra, or with organ accompaniment. Although fundamentally Heynis’ tone is darker and weightier than we’re used to these days–a true contralto!–it never conveys heaviness. Indeed, her consistent, clear timbre, supple legato, seamless transitions across registers, and even aspects of the tonal character itself remind me of the qualities exhibited by a couple of today’s countertenor superstars (a model, perhaps?). The color is rich and warm, carried by a slightly nervous vibrato that lends just that extra measure of intensity and compelling urgency to her delivery. Her superb control of tricky interval leaps and her many lovely little interpretive gestures–a perfectly placed dynamic shift or meaningful change in tempo–are always dramatically correct and never cheapen the music. She takes her time for nuance, for finishing a phrase, and perhaps because in the ‘60s speed in baroque music just wasn’t yet fashionable.
The result is gracefully controlled and flowing lines that only occasionally could use more energy (the middle of “He was despised”, for example). No question–this is just plain wonderful singing, and if you’re not familiar with Heynis, you should not hesitate to find this CD. The sound for the majority of the tracks (dating from as early as 1957) is perfectly fine–but the one big blotch on this otherwise fully recommendable program is the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria. This atrociously recorded and sketchily performed piece (with the Pro Musica Choir and organist Meindert Boekel) begins with audience coughing and goes down hill from there, even though Heynis tries her best to rise above the synchronistically challenged singers and organ accompaniment.
